Pain due to bandaging

[hshank]

My son has primary lymphedema in his right leg, stage 2 and it started about 5 years ago. He had a LVA surgery about 5 months ago. The surgeon made 2 connections at the ankle and one below the knee. Swelling in the foot has decreased but the lower leg and thigh are the same or may have even become worse. He wears compression socks and also bandages.

One problem that has started is that within half an hour or so of bandaging, his ankle starts hurting at the spot of the scar and gets so bad that he has to remove the bandage. Because of this his leg is getting worse and swelling up again.

Any ideas on what to do? Has any one experienced a similar problem?

Thanks.

[Lynora]

If the bandaging is causing pain, then he must remove the bandage. How old is he? If an adult, he should contact the surgeon for advice - I understand this may be difficult with so many closures in place - but he must seek advice.

[Chocolate-e-clare]

He needs to consult with the surgeon and the lymphoedema clinic. His garment may need some adjustment to improve comfort around the scar site. He may benefit from some therapy around the scar site.

[Perido]

I agree with the previous comments about seeking professional advice. I'm not an expert but my own thought would be to ensure the scar areas are kept well moisturised with a suitable non-scented SLS free lotion/cream. In addition to moisturiser I use aloe vera gel, especially where my skin has a tendency to get sensitive in the area where I apply glue to keep my stocking in place. My other thought is low level laser therapy which is credited with enhancing the healing process but you would need to get well informed advice about this; my lymphoedema therapist recommended it to me. Maybe there is some kind of padding that can help protect the scar area - hopefully you can get advice about that. From what I understand of LVA it rarely 'cures' lymphoedema but should enable, in the long term, easier management of the condition.

[hshank]

Thank you all for your replies. My son is 24 years old. We live in the Los Angeles area and the surgery was performed at the USC hospital. We were seeing a physical therapist there post surgery who was bandaging his leg and had an appointment with the surgeon in April but that has been postponed indefinitely now.

Physical therapists are expensive here, somewhere in the range of US $200 to $300 per visit and insurance does not cover it. I am currently bandaging his leg but am just not able to do a good enough job.

[Lynora in reply to hshank]

If he is experiencing pain due to the bandage, you may be applying it too strongly. What product are you using and what padding? Was your son taught to self-bandage? What level compression is he using?

[Perido]

Another thought, I'm wondering if micropore tape would help protect the scars from the bandage. The following link shows the sort of thing I mean:

amazon.co.uk/Micropore-Surg...

I regularly use this type of tape to stop my compression stocking irritating some very thin skin where I have a minor bone deformity on the side of my foot. I stick the tape directly to the area and it comes off easily when I wash - no 'ouch ouch' which can often happen when removing adhesive stuff. I'm assuming your son's scars are well healed.